Review: Avril-Bleh Deli

by

Julie Niesen

-

April 20, 2009

On Court Street, there are an array of shops that cater to the downtowner. Among them is Avril-Bleh Meats, which features all sorts of meats butchered by some of the most entertaining butchers in town (stop in and see them– you will learn a ton and laugh even more) and carries some old-time German favorites, like beer cheese (which does not involve beer), limburger, and head cheese. It’s a really interesting place to visit.

Next door is a little grocery store and deli. It’s a little less old-world, a little more geared to the burgeoning downtown population. They have fresh vegetables up front, and things like cleaning supplies in the back– great to pick up a few things on the way home from work. The focus of the place, however, is its deli, where you can pick up a sandwich or salads to go.

We wandered in there one Saturday afternoon, hungry for a sandwich. They have about ten specialities, and we picked two: a Cuban for me, and an Italian sausage sandwich for Terry.

Terry’s Italian sausage sandwich was sausage, onions, peppers, and marinara sauce on a hoagie-style roll. It was very typical Italian sausage (from next door), in a very typical preparation. Terry liked it, but wasn’t wowed or blown away. It was very competant sandwich.

I ended up with the Cuban, which was pork, ham, swiss, pickles, mayonnaise and mayo on a soft, cornmeal-dusted roll. The flavors were good, but the one part of a real Cuban they missed– pressing the bread! The flavors should all meld in a gooey, delicious, hot sandwich. They grilled the meats and cheese, but did not do anything to the bread. It would have been a pretty darn good sandwich had they used their panini press to press the whole sandwich. Instead, it was just good.

Terry decided he wanted one of the salads in the case for dessert: Hawaiian Salad. It was fairly tasty, a mix of Cool Whip, pineapple, marshmallows, and cherries– very retro, and a little bit of a guilty pleasure.

The service was fast and friendly– I have a feeling that if I worked downtown near Court Street, I’d head here fairly often for a good priced sandwich (less than $8) and good, fast service. Next time, though, I’ll ask if they’ll press the Cuban!